Our 7 best bets for Week 5 of the college football season

Justin K. Aller/Getty ImagesTrace McSorley and the Penn State Nittany Lions host the Ohio State Buckeyes amidst a White Out in Happy Valley in a battle of the unbeatens this weekend.

Gambling, if anything, is a grind.

After a rough start to the season, we’ve now ridden three straight winning weeks back to the breakeven point. This week, we look to keep the streak going and get into the black, with a little help from a White Out in Happy Valley.

Take a look below for our best bets of Week 5 of the college football season.

LAST WEEK: 4-3OVERALL: 14-14

East Carolina (-7) over Old Dominion

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Old Dominion had the biggest win in program history last week, scoring 28 points in the fourth quarter to stun Virginia Tech at home. They’re a solid team, but it’d be pretty shocking to see them show up again as underdogs for yet another winning performance. Backing the Pirates in this spot.

UCF (-13) over Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh isn’t a pushover, but UCF has every reason to run up the score in every game between now and the end of the season to make their case as a playoff team. It’s a bigger number than I’d normally be comfortable with, but the Knights are averaging 50 points a game so far this year.

Penn State (+3.5) over Ohio State

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Ohio State is probably going to roll in this one, but it would be breaking too many rules of mine to bet against the home dog amidst Penn State’s white out. If the Nittany Lions can keep the game from getting away from them early, the crowd should do enough to keep things close at the end.

Kansas (+17) over Oklahoma State

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We’re trusting the sharps on this one. According to the Action Network, the Jayhawks are receiving just 22% of the bets placed on this game, but a whopping 69% of the money – that means there’s some heavy betting coming in by professionals on Kansas. We’ll follow their lead.

Northwestern (+14.5) over Michigan

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Northwestern is coming off a bye, meaning they have been waiting two weeks to make up for a disappointing loss against Akron. Playing as big home underdogs against the Wolverines would be a great spot for them to make a statement, and it feels like Michigan has a midseason stumble every year. Even if Northwestern gets off to a slow start, the line’s big enough to sneak in the backdoor late.

South Carolina (EVEN) over Kentucky

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Kentucky is undefeated through four games and has reached No. 17 in the AP poll after a big win against Mississippi State last weekend, but I think this is where the Cinderella story comes to an end. South Carolina is averaging 34 points a game and didn’t show a bit of rust last weekend in their return to football against Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks are good for it.

Florida Atlantic (-3) over Middle Tennessee State

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Florida Atlantic’s high-powered offence wasn’t enough to take down the rocket-fuelled UCF attack last week, but against Middle Tennessee State this week, they have a good chance at running the Blue Raiders out of the building.